The U.S. State Department and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido denied links to a maritime operation that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed was a failed coup attempt. Maduro said authorities arrested two U.S. citizens (CNN)
Venezuelan Authorities Detain Two U.S. Citizens
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reported that security forces had captured two U.S. citizens involved in a reported recent invasion attempt. Authorities also announced that they had arrested thirteen other individuals with connections to the failed incursion (Reuters)
Venezuela’s Maduro Says Foiled Maritime Invasion
Venezuela says it foiled an attempted maritime “invasion” from its Caribbean coast, killing eight people. A former Venezuelan military official and a former U.S. Green Beret released a video claiming responsibility for the offensive, which they said was not backed by the U.S. military nor the Venezuelan opposition (Washington Post)
Venezuela Depleting Gold Reserves to Pay Iran For Support
Venezuelan officials sent $500 million worth of gold bars to Iran in April in exchange for assistance with operations at Venezuelan oil refineries, according to a new report. This leaves Venezuela with $6.3 billion in hard-currency assets, a three-decade low (Bloomberg)
Venezuela Suggests Major Reforms of Oil Industry
The government announced that Venezuela would move to privatize parts of the country’s petroleum sector and limit the involvement of the state oil company PDVSA in order to increase Caracas’s oil production (Wall Street Journal)
Venezuela Appoints New Oil Minister
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro designated Tareck El Aissami, the recent Minister of Industries and National Production, as the country’s new oil minister. The United States previously sanctioned El Aissami on charges of drug trafficking and recently accused him of breaching these sanctions in a March 2020 indictment of Maduro and other high-level Venezuelan officials for narcotics-related charges (Wall Street Journal)
Venezuela’s Guaido, Maduro Reportedly in Secret Talks
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido have held secret talks on rapprochement in the face of an impending coronavirus crisis and fuel shortages, according to a report (Reuters)
Washington Reportedly Tells Firms to Avoid Sending Gas to Venezuela
U.S. officials told firms that have energy swap agreements with Venezuela to avoid sending gasoline to the country even amid chronic shortages there. The UN human rights chief and U.S. lawmakers have urged the White House to ease sanctions on Venezuela as it faces the coronavirus (Reuters)
Targeting Venezuela, Washington Doubles U.S. Military Deployments in the Caribbean
The White House announced yesterday it will double U.S. military assets in the Caribbean, including destroyers, surveillance planes, and troops, in an anti-drug offensive targeting Venezuela. The move comes in the wake of a recent U.S. indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and members of his regime on charges of narcoterrorism (Associated Press)
Washington Presents Framework for Political Transition in Venezuela
The U.S. State Department presented a plan for a political transition in Venezuela that would remove U.S. sanctions (State Department)
The plan calls for a transitional leadership council chosen by coalitions with majorities in Congress, the departure of foreign security forces, and elections in six to twelve months. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido thanked Washington for the plan, while President Nicolas Maduro’s foreign minister rejected it (Miami Herald)
Russian Oil Firm Sells Assets in Venezuela
State-backed Russian oil firm Rosneft sold all its Venezuelan assets to a company that is fully owned by the Russian government. The move is seen by some as a strategy to avoid U.S. sanctions (Associated Press)
Washington Indicts Venezuelan President, Offers Reward for Capture
U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced the indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and several other Venezuelan officials on narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges, offering a $15 million reward for Maduro’s capture (Washington Post)
United States Charges Former Venezuelan Officials
U.S. prosecutors unsealed criminal cases against two former officials at Venezuela’s state-owned oil company in a new round of charges against Nicolas Maduro’s government (Wall Street Journal)
Venezuelan Authorities Repress Opposition March
Caracas police fired tear gas at demonstrators called upon by opposition leader Juan Guaido to protest the government of Nicolas Maduro (New York Times)
Venezuelan Elections to Proceed Despite Burned Voting Machines
Venezuelan election officials said a parliamentary poll planned for later this year will proceed despite the destruction of nearly fifty thousand voting machines in a warehouse fire (Associated Press)
Brazil Pulls Diplomats From Venezuela
Brazil recalled all of its diplomats and foreign service officials from Venezuela in a loosening of official ties with Nicolas Maduro’s government (Agence France-Presse)
United States Planning New Venezuela Sanctions
U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams stated that Washington would impose additional sanctions on importers of Venezuelan oil in Asia and firms that helped the Maduro regime to smuggle its oil into the market (Reuters)
Washington Sanctions Russian Oil Firm for Supporting Venezuela’s Maduro
Washington added the Russian oil firm Rosneft and its top executive to an economic sanctions blacklist for supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (State Department)
Venezuela Asks ICC to Investigate U.S. Officials
Caracas petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate U.S. officials for sanctions that it says constitute crimes against humanity, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said (Reuters)
Venezuelan Government Arrests Uncle of Opposition Leader
Venezuelan security officials detained Juan Jose Marquez, the uncle of opposition leader Juan Guaido, on charges of smuggling prohibited items on an international flight. The State Department condemned the move as a “kidnapping” and called for his immediate release (BBC)
Venezuela’s Guaido Meets With President Trump
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido met with President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday following Guaido’s attendance of the State of the Union address. Guaido also met with Vice President Trump and Senator Marco Rubio separately before the meeting (NBC News)
Trinidad Withdraws From Natural Gas Agreement with Venezuela
Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley stated that the country would not proceed with a project to jointly develop a natural gas field with Venezuela due to U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA. Trinidad and Venezuela will choose to develop this field separately from one another (Reuters)
Colombia Rejects Venezuelan Call for Restored Ties
Colombian President Ivan Duque rejected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s call for their countries to resume diplomatic relations, citing Venezuela’s “constant aggressions” against its detractors (Reuters)
Colombia to Grant Work Permits to Venezuelan Migrants
Colombia will offer work permits to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants living in the country, the federal migration agency announced (Reuters)
Program Launched to Help Venezuelan Migrants Settle in Brazil
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the IOM launched an initiative worth more than $4 million to help Venezuelan migrants settle in Brazil (Reuters)